“During church, I kept feeling my phone vibrate. After the third call, I decided to step into the hall. I noticed a voicemail from a friend. ‘Hannah, we have a liver. I need you to call me back NOW.’ The phone slid out of my hand and dropped to the floor. In complete shock, I whispered, ‘I got the call, Mom,’ as tears started running down my face. She went ghost white. At 5.am. they strapped me down to the operating table. ‘No, I can’t do this. I want out.’ I lost it.”

“I’m either an hour into the elliptical or I’m halfway through a bag of Doritos. I’m either a mom with a bath/book/bedtime routine, or a mom locked in the bathroom hoping they’ll soon fall asleep. I’m always thinking of all the good things, or sometimes it’s just pure worry. I often wake up wondering which side of the line I’ll fall on today.”

“I grew up in a conservative household. My father had strict rules: Dating was for finding someone to marry, and premarital sex was bad. I had my share of crushes, but I could never imagine myself doing anything sexually charged. When I went to college, a guy friend asked me out on a date. He was aware I wanted to stay a virgin. I quickly realized kissing left me uncomfortable. I was told time and time again, ‘You just haven’t found the right person yet.'”

“It was Christmas time. I’d just finished getting my tree and laid down when my brother called. ‘Mom passed.’ Time stopped. Silence. I instantly threw up. The next day, I drove home. The first thing I saw was her pile of presents. She’d wrapped them and when she finished, she sat down and never got up again. I wish I could’ve thanked her, told her how much her words meant to me. I thought I had more time but, out of nowhere, time ran out.”

“I was taught that men do not cry, so all of my emotions were kept inside. When the day came, I was extremely nervous. I changed my mind over 15 times. I was sweating and told myself I couldn’t do it. But I knew I had to.”

“I heard him tell the kids, ‘I don’t know how much I will be seeing you guys for the next little while.’ I threw on some clothes and asked the children to leave the room. He told me he simply did not love me anymore. ‘Having sex with you is hard since you’ve started all these diets but never stick to any of them.’ My heart fell to the floor.”